So this is for anyone who wants a read. might help some newbies out or could just be a ramble. please note it is quiet long and is just a ramble about my experiance from leaving my job as a tractor man to a new career in hgv driving.
So Febuary i decided i was going to bite the bullet and get my hgv licenses. I have been on the farms for 10 years and decided that enough was enough so started to get organised. 1st off was the provisional license. Ouch. cheapest i could get the medical for was £120. Joys of living near Edinburgh. So new license arrives (minus the points that had expired) and theory tests booked. this was a trip across the border to berwick for a day out. Theory passed with 98%, HPT was touch and go with 71% and cpc mod 2 was 95%. result…
next was the hunt for a trainer. best i got was tomish training in inverness. time to visit the long lost family for a room for a week. Class 2 was good. Slap over gearbox 4 on 4 in an old renualt. Learning inverness wasnt difficult as i still remembered bits from visiting as a kid. 4 days training with test on the friday. first 3 days were good and then thursday came. it was like i had never driven before. Pulled out infront of everything at every junction… stalled at every round a bout and generally was an epic disaster. My instructor stopped me driving after only 2 hours as i was getting worse. So i decided to take a drive down loch ness to clear my head and have a kebab for tea just to help and try and relax. Friday morning… woke up at 5.30am, test wasnt till 10.15. I was bricking it. it was my best drive of the week. Passed with 1 minor. proper result…
So 2 weeks later my license arrives and we’re booked in for class 1. Back to inverness we go. driving with the trailer was good. Previous experiance from the farm did help and give a bit more confidence. too much confidence. test day came and slowed a car on a round a bout… Fail… gutted. But did pass the cpc mod 4 so at least that is done. 2 weeks later we are back in inverness after easter holidays. just 1 mornings training and test the next day. Arrived in Inverness on the wednesday night to a call from my parents saying my granddad had passed away. awesome… Test day arrives and within 1000m from the test centre… blew it. on a bloody round a bout. had a total brain explosion and just went for a totally non exsistent gap. Fail number 2.
Started to discuss other options such as different area for the test. phone systems training and have an assessment drive on tuesday in carlisle. That went well and maybe spending the extra night with my other half helped but was totally confident after the drive through carlisle in an artic. 1st time driving an artic. Should have said doing c+e in a wag and drag. ne more go!Got a re test in inverness for friday. Give it one more go.
thursday was the final goodbye for my grandad.
friday comes and this time no extra training. little warm up drive then test. however decided my warm up drive would include me sitting drinking redbull watching my instructor drive. So the test came and off we go. Was going perfectly. then i thought i had blown it. came to the last round a bout on the route. missed the 1st gap you could have got a windmill out in and got in my head i had to get the next gap. watching, watching, gap starts to open. Biting point and handbrake off. commited to the gap. gap starts to dissapear and boom… high revs and dump the clutch in a start lewis hamilton would be proud of. thankfully the examiner wasnt massivly intested. pass with 1 driving fault. the start on the round about. and a minor for not tucking the stand away on the trailer on the uncouple. still. i’ll take that thanks. Now i have all my licenses. Over the bloody moon.
So to find a job. Went to company that had promised me work before my test and nothing. Blown off so lets try somewhere else. 2 other comapnies and have a trail on a log crane. nice and easy again the farm bit helps. Down to ■■■■■■■ to stay with the other half for a few days and see if i get any better luck in ■■■■■■■■ So monday night i start on here and look at the ■■■■■■■■ hauliers page for some companies. have a list of 15 to start with over 40 mile radius. on tuesday i got round 8 companies before heading back from longtown to whitehaven for lunch with my girlfriend. we had talked about the earlier day and some of the companies who had taken my details. after lunch i head for dissington and tyson h burridge. head for reception and ask who i would speak to about possible vacancies. straight into the transport office and offered a postion that has come available. after a good chat and shown round the yard we shake hands and told to be in the yard next day (today) at 8am. Over the ■■■■■■ moon.
Day one was not what was promised or anything near what i caould have prepared for. was told today would be shunting around the yard. Eh no. straight away im off to collect a trailer 4 miles away. get it emptied then back to the yard. next away with a tautliner to load. next another tautliner to tip then reload. Next was another tautliner through a busy town and off to load. god i’m kanckered. tomorrow i’m off at 7.30am to tip locally and reload then off to dumbarton to tip then uddingston to reload and home. no time to ■■■■■ foot around. thrown in at the deep end.
Since taking the job yesterday have had another 3 job offers from companies yesterday. but i am grateful to the burridge team for giving me a start and a chance and i will be sticking it. get my own truck on monday and i’m off tramping. another new challenge and another new experiance… Bring it on
